How to Catch a Butterfly
by Jukori
Summary: Of course Luffy had to anger one of the most mysterious creatures known to mankind, and now Zoro got turned into a child. How are they ever gonna change him back? (A plot driven adventure story, focusing around de-aged Zoro, with lots of fluff - before timeskip)
1. Pricus

"Meat! Meat! Meat!" Luffy's carefree voice echoed over Sunny's deck, filling each and every corner with bright enthusiasm. The ship bounced excitedly from one side to the other. Initiated by the captain's infectious laughter a new adventure was about to begin… Closely followed by a series of curses from his crew. How else could it be?

Meanwhile, a trickle of soup had found a way out of its confinement and was delighted to discover the grand wide world. Little did it know that the display of curiosity would ultimately lead to its downfall. All left behind was an occasional ambiguous plop and the vague hope that it was worth it.

"Jeez, what an annoying bunch," the cook growled.

Tonight's appetizer had just been spilled. Cutting and mixing the ingredients, letting it rest, the careful seasoning combined with a sprinkle of love that went into each and every step - all in vain. Now he'd never be able to see Nami's and Robin's pleased expressions when they finally tried his newest creation. How could he ever face them again? He wasn't good enough. He had failed. And first and foremost, he wasted perfectly fine food. Unforgivable!

Ready to kick some ass, he lit his cigarette - a smooth motion that came as easy to him as breathing itself. He stepped out of the kitchen, the ship shook once more and Sanji almost kissed the ground.

"Oi, cut the -," His jaw dropped.

"Gomu-Gomu no Rocket!"

As his captain flew past him, he experienced his own mental parade of What. The. Fuck.

It took him a moment to process the occurring scene. The cook was used to insanity, still, this was nuts!

'Your body can stand almost anything son, it's the mind you need to convince,' at least that's what good, old Zeff always told him. How naive. If he could see this fiasco of bizarre madness, he'd surely have second thoughts.

A giant pair of hooves dangled over the railing and stomped frantic on the planks. The legs attached to them were covered in short, grayish fur that turned slowly into a muddy white, while the hair under it's chin formed a meager excuse of a beard. Dull, slit-shaped pupils stared at anything and nothing in particular, opposed to the rest of the monster, which was trashing desperately to get rid of Luffy, who had just grabbed the horns on its head. He seemed to have the time of his life, grinning from ear to ear.

"Yaahhhoooo!"

A Goat? Sanji's conclusion felt flat. From the waist up the thing had the body of a goat - and not the cute, cuddly kind. Beauty may lay in the eye of the beholder, but this was a violation against nature! Weirdly enough it ended in a fishtail. The two halves didn't make any sense, neither complimented the other. In fact, they almost produced a completely impossible creature!

"The heck is that!?" Sanji asked, pointing at the huge monster as the influence of absurdity waned.

The rest of the straw hats had already assembled, either watching and loudly cheering, or simply ignoring the spectacle for better health.

"What do you think it is?" Nami replied over the noise. Totally fed up with Luffy's nonsense, she looked more vicious than the beast itself.

"A sea-goat," Robin clarified nonchalant. She, on the other hand, wasn't in the slightest troubled. "And not just any, our captain has his eyes on Pricus - King of sea goats," Robin smiled.

"Pricus?" Nami wondered. The name sounded somewhat familiar.

* * *

 **AN:**

This story plays somewhere after Thriller Bark and before Sabaody. Enjoy ;)


	2. Poof!

"Hey, Zoro! Sanji! You're missing all the fun," Luffy called animated from the monster's back while struggling to remain on top.

Though, neither of them showed any interest in joining the rubber boy's shenanigans of the day.

After cutting through his options, the swordsman decided to have none of it. Not even bothering to open his eyes, he firmly pretended to be asleep. Sanji couldn't care less either. More pressing matters at hand. For example, worshiping the eternal beauty and wisdom of his personal goddesses. With hearts for eyes, he rushed towards their sides.

"Nami-swan! Robin-chwan!"

Rewarded with an affectionate smack on the head he drifted blissfully into the land of milk, honey, and concussions. Just to be awoken a second later. A shrill shriek pierced his ears. Instantly his foggy mind cleared and returned him back to the here and now.

"Gululululuuuuu!" it roared.

Silence… This was not a sound that was supposed to come out of a goat's mouth - of any mouth actually. A pin dropped somewhere in the distance. The cook could hear it loud and clear, and if Sanji hadn't been so occupied by gaping in disbelieve, he would certainly be tempted to comment on Brooks stale excuse of a joke.

Luffy grinned devilish. Like a snake, the captain slung his arms around its neck. He was ready to exploit the new-found source of amusement shamelessly and constricted his muscles.

"Gululululuuuuu!"

His faithful crowd couldn't hold it any longer. Usopp, Chopper, and Brook went down first. They bursted into screams of laughter until all of them ended up rolling on the floor.

"Best day ever!"

Almost strangling the pitiful thing, Luffy squeezed, again and again, coaxing one round of silly noises after another out of its throat.

"Gululululuuuuu!"

"No more. I can't take it… please stop!" Usopp begged between wild laughter and tears. They were having a blast. Out of the corner of his eyes, Sanji could see even Franky sobbing over the apparently brain-dead creature.

"Idiots…" The cook clenched his teeth. Was he the only one who could grasp the severity of the situation? Whereas the other nitwits may be fooled, he saw the bigger picture. The crime committed was outrageous.

"Bastard!" He confronted the unfortunate beast. "How dare you show your ridiculous self in front of the ladies!"

"That's not the point!" Usopp, Nami and Chopper snapped back in unison.

Too late. An unstoppable train had been set into motion, and he knew exactly how to put things on the right track.

"Yosh! Men, suppers ahead of you! Tonight it will be goat for dinner!"

Forever the pragmatist when his emergency supplies were concerned, he pointed at Pricus. You can't be picky, especially not if your crew included a certain captain, who had a black hole for a stomach. Sometimes though, it came in handy, like now. With priorities straightened, the rubber boy's head snapped back. He started to drool and his eyes morphed into meat, whilst the goat's widened in fear.

And then hell broke loose.

Massive hooves smashed and tramped in a rage, trying to deal as much damage as possible, to get away as far as possible. Wood splintered under the impact and Sunny toppled dangerously to the left. The Straw-hat pirates were flung screaming up and down - Well that escalated quickly.

"It's going berserk!" Franky yelled into the chaos.

Suddenly lasers started to emerge from the panicking creature, dashing sizzling through the air.

"You've got to be kidding!" Sanji sidestepped a pink beam aimed at his chest.

One of them came dangerously close to hitting the pseudo-napping Swordsman. However, before the attack actually could land Zoro reached for his trusty white katana which was always nearby. He dodged, while simultaneously drawing his sword. Ready for action the Samurai faced the sea monster.

Zoro stopped, blinked, stopped, and blinked again.

"The heck is that!?"

* * *

 **AN:**

I hope you enjoyed the fanfiction so far! If you find any mistakes, something that doesn't make sense, sounds weird, or if you have some questions and plot ideas please let me know! I want to improve my writing and am open for all the help I can get! :)

PS: Reviews are awesome, and so are you!


	3. A Blast from the Past

"Wha - What happened?" Brook yelled. He was genuinely confused.

"Zoro!" Luffy rushed toward his swordsman's side, or rather to where he had vanished just seconds ago.

"Go-Goat-bea-," Usopp stuttered in shock. "Zo-Zoro got hit by a goat-beam!"

Only a pink cloud remained of their friend.

"It's my fault," Chopper wailed with teary eyes "He was covering me."

Between shock and fury, Luffy found his voice. "Where did you-, " but before he could finish, the sea goat used the momentary distraction to escape into the depths of the ocean.

"Zoro…" Luffy's hands tightened into fists.

"Legend claims that Pricus is able to manipulate time and alter reality. Whoever is cursed with his wrath is doomed to start over. It'll turn you back 13 years in time. Of course, this is just a myth and our swordsman could already be dead."

"Eeehhhhhh?" The little reindeer summarized.

"Robin! This is no place for jokes," Brook scolded her lightly while keeping a sharp eye on their captain. If he had eyes. Yohohohoho.

"And what's with that super dubious arbitrary number?" Usopp wondered. This smelled more than fishy.

"So, he is fine?" Luffy questioned wearily.

"Seems so," Sanji replied and picked an imaginable piece of lint from his sleeve.

The captain's shoulders relaxed, as he accepted their words as truth, and a path for curiosity was paved instead.

"Of course not, idiots! Weren't you paying any attention?" Nami was about to blow. On board, they needed every single man, and Zoro was barely a help in the first place, yet as a kid, he would be completely useless. But Luffy wasn't listening any longer. He switched between picking his nose and poking against the puffy collection of samurai-steam. It felt surprisingly dense.

"Oh no! what should we do? Someone call a doctor!"

Expertly overlooking the panicking ball of fur, Franky did the math, "So, six-ish."

Nami sighed. Zoro of all people… Just imagining a little green-haired boy made her shudder.

Great, not another obnoxiously loud, hot-headed brat to take care of, the navigator thought and glared at the kiddie trio. They had their fill of troublemakers already, though he would probably fit right in. Disaster was bound to strike. There was nothing she could do - beside loathing her fate.

"Stop touching that!" Nami yelled furious at Luffy. A desperate attempt to bring order into the mess. Why did she have to be surrounded by such morons?

Robin chuckled. This could be very entertaining.

.

.

.

"Huh? Who's that?"

* * *

 **AN:**

Thank you so much for your reviews, **Jack,** **Guest** and **The Sleeping Zombie**! It means the world to me and I am glad you are enjoying the story! I put an AN in the first chapter, so the timeline is a little clearer. Thanks for the advice ;)


	4. Specter

Wind drowned her ears in static, swallowing the faint whispers of disbelief that dwindled through the air. With eyes wide open she took an unsteady step back. Shock. Pain. Regret. She covered her mouth to contain the dread urging to break free, while the cold struck. Every beat of her heart filled her chest with ice. Wave after wave suffocating, until she felt completely numb.

The fog had faded and revealed what hid beneath. A sight that robbed her breath. She was barely able to look, just couldn't comprehend what was there and what wasn't. She wanted to run, to scream, to punch someone! As ice turned into fire, her fists tightened. Hot and raging it soared through her, leaving a void of fury she didn't know what to do with.

'Who's that?' Luffy had asked. The question wasn't that far-fetched. Nami couldn't blame him for not recognizing their swordsman. The boy who had shown was undoubtedly Zoro - a miniature version of himself. Same green hair, same face, only smaller. Incredibly small. Nevertheless, it was unbearable to think of them as the same person. What Zoro made Zoro wasn't there anymore. She tried to find some similarities. None - no resemblance whatsoever. Apart from their looks they had nothing in common. It felt like his essence was gone, an empty shell remaining on a shore far from home.

Zoro's swords lay mockingly at the child's feet, purposeless and unable to protect their master. With a body as fragile as glass, he was ready to shatter at the slightest threat. An irrational part of her resented him for his weakness, but this wasn't it. Nami's gaze kept coming back to the thick, iron collar. She couldn't take her eyes of the heavy steel that closed relentless around the delicate neck. Absentmindedly she rubbed her own. The sharp contrast of soft skin and harsh metal, as well as the implications in between, pulled at her heartstrings. Stiff and tense he stood there in his own truth. It sickened her. Who could do that to a child… to Zoro?

The screeching of a lighter roared in the eerie silence. The cook's fingers were shaking, his teeth grit. Every new attempt to light his cigarette sounded like nails on a chalkboard. Ultimately, he failed. Angry he shoved the full pack back into his pocket just to break them in the process. _Too skinny_ , was the only thought occupying his mind.

"Urgh, what's with all the bandages?" Franky gasped.

Well yeah, and there was that… They were impossible to miss. Dripped in dirt and blood, one layer followed another. From head to toe, he was wrapped in them, each ounce of skin sealed off. There was barely any visible, except his face maybe. Dressed up like this it was hard to tell if his body was trapped or held together by them. Either way, it was painful to watch.

In the corner, Nami could see Robin frown. Her gaze switched back and forth, from bandages, soaked in a gruesome mix of reds, to the spotless cloth he was wearing - an ill-fitting shirt and a pair of shorts. The gap created was impossible to bridge. Dark blood stains were taunted by an almost clinical white. It painted a horrendous picture.

"Yikes!" Usopp mumbled. Not the most eloquent response, but it had to do. A dense lump of disgust and disbelieve formed in his throat that muted the rest of his vocabulary.

Yikes, indeed. Brook shook his head in misery. Everything about the boy screamed, help me. He didn't know that emptiness could fill a person. His bloodshot eyes were underscored by worrisome bags and suspiciously red-rimmed. The two dead holes stared past him. In a strange way, it was similar to his reflection in a mirror. _He is nothing but a walking corpse._

"Zoro…?" Chopper choked unsure. Luffy tilted his head. In his voice was doubt as he vocalized what should have been obvious. The reality hit hard for all of them.

The child didn't react. Something was wrong. He was too pale, too calm, too…

"He's injured."

Careful, not to spook or startle him further, the little reindeer approached. Up close he could see a thin layer of sweat on his face and the tremble of tiny hands. There wasn't any time for him to react as the boy - Zoro, he reminded himself, suddenly went limp and crumbled to the ground.

"Doctor! Somebody call a doctor! We need a do-"

"Chopper!"

"Oh, right."

Thanks to his life-long experience he checked him over quickly. "Infirmary, now!"

Nothing. Nobody was moving. He looked up in confusion. Everyone appeared frozen in fear and overwhelmed by their own emotions. He understood… However, they had no time to waste! Zoro needed medical attention. With building frustration, he raised his chin to call out again. To his relieve it wasn't necessary.

"Here we go, laddie," Franky said gentle, doing the heavy lifting for his friends this once. Instantly Chopper was on his heels as they moved forward.

.

.

.

Slowly the infirmary door cracked open. After some long hours, Chopper finally emerged. He was tired beyond belief. Still in his monster form, his hands reached for the wooden door-frame. He was desperately aching for support. It required every bit of strength he possessed to drag himself back into the light.

Outside the world looked cold. The sun was shining against a harsh blue sky, though there seemed to be no color in anything. A salty breeze whirled through his furry coat. In the distance, he could hear an echo of laughter. It sounded hollow. It felt like being punched into the gut. There was a tightness wandering slowly upwards. He could already taste the bitterness creeping in. His throat closed and he allowed himself to panic. Finally, he hauled himself over the railing to empty his stomach.

The captain narrowed his eyes. In the resurfacing chaos, he had picked up his swordsman's treasure, not letting go since then. He was watching in quiet and the world kept on spinning.

* * *

 **AN:**

It's been such a long time, but I haven't forgotten about this fanfiction! Still sorry for the wait. So let's buckle up and leave the realm of canon and into my own angsty version of Zoro's past, cause honestly, the guy deserves a little more backstory ;)

Anyway, thank you so much for your reviews, **rebecca taylor** , **Fairykick** , **Dragon77,** and **Guest**! Hope you're still liking this chapter. I tried to make it a little longer than the last one. Thanks for the advice ;)


	5. Dance with Me

_"I still can't believe that this is Zoro."_

He woke to the hushed voices of strangers. Slowly shedding the sleep from his brain it became quite clear that he wasn't where he was supposed to be.

 _"He must, it may not be the Zoro we know, but no doubt it's him…"_

For a fleeting moment, he allowed himself to dwell in the sense of soft sheets and the comfort of the cover. The rhythm of his chest was even, his eyes still shut. Carefully, oh so carefully, he opened his lids, just the tiniest bit. Seeing without being seen.

 _"How much can we tell him?"_

He was alone. The room he was in was empty, empty and unfamiliar. A part of his soul cried in pain and another breathed in relieve.

 _"… won't it change the past?"_

Hesitant he rubbed the remaining glimpses of his dream away and let the visions of the night rest. To his surprise, he wasn't engulfed by darkness.

 _"How so?"_

 _"Too much exposure can be dangerous. If he retains memories from now and takes them back it could change everything."_

A pleasant dim light tickled in through the small round window in the door. Thought it was not the one the sounds came from.

 _"… and if we're creating an alternate timeline?"_

As quiet as possible he left the warms of the bed behind to watch the vague dance of silhouettes in the keyhole.

 _"… or is this the future caused by the occurring events? Arrrggghhhh, why does it have to be so complicated?"_

"What's going on?" He mumbled to himself.

While the puzzle pieces clicked one after another together, his dizziness gradually return. Heavily he leaned against the door. Perhaps a little too heavy. The wood moaned pitiful under his weight and the shadows turned in his direction.

Shit. His heart skipped a beat. There was no denying it, no pretending. He had been caught.

"You're up? Come on out if you want," a faceless voice called.

He took a deep breath and pushed the traitorous door open. Squinting against the bright colors of the day he saw him.

"Straw Hat?"

* * *

 **AN:**

Thank you so much for your reviews, they mean a lot to me! **Guest** special thanks to you, your comment made my day! (I really felt flattered) This chapter is incredibly short but the next ones gonna be longer again + thanks for reading :)


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